The Noose
"The Noose" is the first episode of the fourth series of Peaky Blinders''and the nineteenth episode overall. It aired on November 15, 2017. Synopsis It is Christmas and Tommy Shelby receives a letter that makes him realize that he and every member of the family are in danger. He knows that it is time for the family to bury their differences and face the enemy together. Plot ]] The series begins with a recap of what happened at the end of series 3, with the arrest of Arthur Shelby, John Shelby, Polly Gray, and Michael Gray. Next, Arthur, John, and Michael are pulled from their prison cells at Winson Green Prison and led to a room containing three nooses. Polly soon suffers the same fate. A barrister Edward Roberts rushes in with high hopes of getting the King to put all of this Birmingham nonsense behind him. He shows Arthur Bigge numerous documents, some of which name Winston Churchill's involvement with the Blinders. The barrister presents the deal that Thomas Shelby proposed; that if his family is set free, all incriminating documents will be burned in the barrister's presence, provided Thomas would receive an OBE. While on the gallows, John and Arthur both starts reciting "In the bleak midwinter." Just as the lever is about to be pulled, a guard suddenly rushes in and orders to stop the hanging, thus saving John, Arthur, Michael, and Polly. Thomas, now wearing spectacles, enters a building where he sits and talk to Lizzie, who criticizes him for his recent behavior. As it is Christmas at this time, Thomas asks Lizzie Stark what presents she bought for him to gift to his son Charles Shelby. The two get into a brief argument about his behavior in regards to speaking with his family, and he responds that he will buy Charles a real horse instead of the toy horses she had bought. Thomas enters the office only to be greeted by Michael, who is seemingly the only member of the family that is still in contact with him. Michael is first seen snorting cocaine upon Thomas' entry. He later insists that he uses it to keep him awake for the long shifts, as every time he closes his eyes, he pictures the gallows. Michael informs him of a rising problem with Jessie Eden, who is advocating for more pay for the women wire cutters. Thomas asks Michael how Polly is doing and Michael informs him that she has recently gotten attached to tablets given to her while she was in prison. Now, she sees spirits. Thomas requests Michael to take care of her. |250px]]John receives a visit from Ada Thorne at his home, and the friendly visit is cut short, as Esme Shelby expresses her distaste for Ada, as she believes that Ada is the last one being controlled by Thomas. Next, Arthur's playing with his son, Billy Shelby in the garden with their chickens. Thomas' meeting with Jessie Eden does not go well, as they both exchange banter on fair wage for both men and women in the workplace of the factories. Jessie is well versed on the multiple aliases Thomas uses to run his numerous companies, and offers kudos to her for her extensive research of him. Back at home, Thomas discusses Christmas dinner with his maid Frances, as she delivers his mail. Thomas opens a letter that others in the family received as well. The contents is a Christmas card with a blank hand on it from Luca Changretta. |250px]] Arthur's visit from Ada is interrupted by a phone call from John, warning him to check is post about a black hand being delivered to him as well. Ada visits Thomas next and he calls a family meeting on Boxing Day. He insists that the family being together back in Small Heath will wade their enemies from coming to harm any of them. Thomas cannot get a hold of John on the phone to inform him of the meeting, and insists that Michael will go get him in the morning. Polly and Michael get into an argument about her use of tablets, and about Michael's current involvement with Thomas, despite having sent his family to prison where they nearly died. Ada enters the scene, informing the two of them about the black hand. ]] Thomas receives yet another visit from his maid discussing Christmas dinner. Clearly agitated, Thomas decided to speak with the chef himself, after learning that the chef and his assistant are Italian. During this confrontation with the chef, Thomas learns that the head chef was told to bring the assistant; Antonio with him, but he didn't know what for. The plan was for Antonio to kill Thomas on Christmas Day. Thomas kills Antonio, and tells the chef to go back and inform Sabini that his plan failed. , Esme and John]] The next morning, Michael approaches John's home to persuade him to bring Esme and the kids to Small Heath to stay safe. Esme objects, insisting that she and John are the only family they need along with the children. During this argument, the moving cars along the road stop, and bales of hay are knocked off to reveal a few New York mafia men sent to eliminate the Blinders. John stands his ground to try and kill them on his own property, but fails. John takes several bullets to the chest and dies, as Michael also takes four bullets of his own. Trivia *This episode marks Adrien Brody's on-screen debut as Luca Changretta. *Michael refers to himself as a member of the "Peaky fucking Blinders" in this episode. Quotes :'John Shelby' and 'Arthur Shelby: "In the bleak midwinter" ---- :Arthur Shelby: "I'm emotional, I just don't know what fucking emotion it is." ---- :Thomas Shelby' (to 'Arthur Shelby): "If you have to pull a gun on Linda, do it. Merry Christmas." ---- :Polly Shelby: "How can I get through fucking Christmas?" ---- :'''Chef: "My hand has blood." :Thomas Shelby: "Oh! Mine too." ---- :Michael Gray: "We're not the Peaky fucking Blinders unless we are together." Soundtrack Gallery E4.1Arthur and Ada.png E4.1PrisonholdingShelbybrothers.png E4.1Tommy and the Chef.png E4.1Kitchen.png E4.1Torture.png E4.1Tommyaimsagun.png References Category:Series 4 Category:Series 4 Episodes